Most Americans assume that bad habits come down to willpower. If someone gambles away their savings, binges on food or shops compulsively, the typical response is simple: they should have exercised more self-control! The idea that a prescribed medication could hijack behavior, pushing someone toward risky or destructive impulses, seems almost impossible to accept. And yet the research is clear that some of the restless legs drugs can modify brain chemistry enough to trigger unwelcome activities.
Neuroscientists and drug safety experts have long warned that certain medications affecting the brain chemical dopamine may alter behavior in surprising ways. Drugs prescribed for restless legs syndrome (RLS) and Parkinson disease have been…